Simultaneous quantification of catecholamines in rat brain by high‐performance liquid chromatography with on‐line gold nanoparticle‐catalyzed luminol chemiluminescence detection

A new method based on high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with on‐line gold nanoparticle‐catalyzed luminol chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for the simultaneous quantitation of catecholamines in rat brain. In the present CL system, gold nanoparticles were produced by the on‐line reaction of H₂O₂, NaHCO₃?Na₂CO₃ (buffer solution of luminol) and HAuCl_4. Norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (EP) and dopamine (DA) could strongly enhance the CL signal of the on‐line gold nanoparticle‐catalyzed luminol system. The UV?visible absorption spectra and transmission electron microscopy studies were carried out, and the CL enhancement mechanism was proposed. Catecholamines promoted the on‐line formation of more gold nanoparticles, which better catalyzed the luminol–H₂O₂ CL reaction. The good separation of NE, EP and DA was achieved with isocratic elution using a mixture of methanol and 0.2% aqueous phosphoric acid (5:95, v/v) within 8.5 min. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits, defined as a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3, were in the range of 1.32–1.90 ng/mL, corresponding to 26.4?38.0 pg for 20 μL sample injection. The recoveries of catecholamines added to rat brain sample were >94.6%, with the precisions <5.5%. The validated HPLC?CL method was successfully applied to determine NE and DA in rat brain without prior sample purification. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An ultrasensitive and highly selective determination method for quinones by high-performance liquid chromatography with photochemically initiated luminol chemiluminescence

Quinones are a class of compounds of substantial toxicological and pharmacological interest. An ultrasensitive and highly selective chemiluminescence (CL) method was newly developed for the determination of quinones based on the utility of photochemically initiated luminol CL. The method involved ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of quinones to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the unique photosensitization reaction accompanied with the photolytical generation of 3,6-dihydroxyphthalic acid (DHPA) from quinones. The photoproducts were detected by luminol CL reaction. Interestingly, it was noticed that DHPA had enhancement effect for the luminol CL. The generation of the enhancer (DHPA) in association with the oxidant (ROS) in the photochemical reaction greatly increases the sensitivity and selectivity of the proposed luminol CL method. In order to elucidate the type of ROS produced by the photosensitizaion reaction in relation to the proposed CL reaction, we investigated the quenching effect of selective ROS scavengers in the luminol CL. Although several ROS were generated, superoxide anion was the most effective ROS for the generated CL. Moreover, the enhancement mechanism of DHPA for luminol CL was confirmed. The enhancement was found to be through the formation of stabilized semiquinone anion radical that provided long-lived CL. The generation of the semiquinone radical was confirmed by electron spin resonance technique. Furthermore, we developed an HPLC method with on-line photochemical reaction followed by the proposed CL detection for the determination of four quinones. A luminol analogue, L-012, was used for its high sensitivity. The detection limits for quinones obtained with the proposed method (S/N = 3) were in the range 1.5–24 fmol that were 10–1000 times more sensitive compared with the previous methods. Finally, the developed HPLC-CL system was successfully applied for the determination of quinones in airborne particulate samples collected at Nagasaki city.     

Chemiluminescence Flow Injection Analysis of Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Based on Luminol Reaction

ABSTRACT

A chemiluminescence(CL) flow system is described for the determination of menadione sodium bisulfite based on its repression on the chemiluminescence(CL) emission produced upon mixing a hexacyanoferrate(III) solution with an alkaline luminol solution in the absence of co-oxidizer. The system responds linearly to menadione sodium bisulfite concentration in the range 0-1 μg/mL with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.01 μg/mL. Relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.16% for 0.4 μg/mL menadione sodium bisulfite (n=11). The system has been successfully applied to the determination of menadione sodium bisulfite in tablets and injections.     

Existence of a new reactive intermediate oxygen species in hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase reaction

We investigated a hypoxanthine (HPX) and xanthine oxidase (XOD) reaction by using a luminol analog 8-amino-5-chloro-7-phenylpyrido[3,4-d]pyridazine-1,4-(2H,3H)dione sodium salt (L-012)-mediated chemiluminescence (CL) response. Addition of a high activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), a potent O2* scavenger, and of a high concentration of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), a potent spin trapping agent, diminished completely the CL response. Whereas a high concentration of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), as a potent *OH scavenger could not attain to the complete diminishment of the CL response. It has been reported that luminol monoanion reacts with *OH to form luminol radical, and then resultant luminol radical reacts with O2* to elicit CL response. Complete scavenging for *OH is assumed to result in lack of luminol radical, which in turn induces lack of CL response. However, our results did not support the idea. Furthermore, we examined the effect of L-012 on the DMPO-OOH formation in the presence or absence of DMSO in the HPX-XOD system by applying an electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin trapping method. The DMPO-OOH formation was inhibited even in the presence of DMSO, and the rate constant (k2) between L-012 and O2* obtained in the presence of DMSO was 9.77 x 10(2) M(-1) s(-1) and the constant in the absence of DMSO was 2.97 x 10(3) M(-1) s(-1). The data suggests that L-012 is converted to a radical form that reacts with O2* even under the conditions of the absence of *OH. From these, we postulate that the existence of a reactive intermediate oxygen species in the HPX-XOD system.     

Capillary electrophoresis of monoamines and catechol with indirect chemiluminescence detection.

A capillary electrophoresis (CE)/indirect chemiluminescence (CL) detection method is described for monoamines, viz., serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP), and norepinephrine (NE) and for catechol (CA). Optimal separation and detection were obtained with an electrophoretic buffer of 10 mM sodium borate (pH 9.5) containing 5 mM luminol and 25 mM H2O2, and a catalyst solution of 30 microM CuSO4 in 30 mM borate buffer (pH 10.0). Complete separation of 5-HT, DA, EP, NE and CA was achieved in less than 5 min. The Cu(II)-catalyzed luminol CL reaction was employed to provide the high and constant background. Since monoamines and catechol can form stable complexes with Cu(II), inverted analyte peaks due to decreased catalytic activity of Cu(II) can be detected. The degree of CL suppression is proportional to the analyte concentrations. Linearity (r> or =20.99) over two orders of magnitude was generally obtained. The concentration limits of detection (CLODs) for the monoamines and catechol studied were between 0.5 and 3.1 uM. The relative standard deviation (RSD) values on peak size and migration time were in the ranges 3.2-4.4% and 0.4-0.5%, respectively. The applicability of the method for the analysis of pharmaceutical and biological samples was examined.     

Study on the chemiluminescence behavior of bovine serum albumin with luminol and its analytical application

In this paper, the luminescence behavior of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and luminol was first studied by flow injection chemiluminescence (CL). It was found that the hyperchromic effect of luminol in the presence of BSA led to the acceleration of the electrons transferring rate of excited 3-aminophthalate, which greatly enhanced the CL intensity of luminol/dissolved oxygen reaction. The increments of CL intensity were proportional to the concentrations of BSA with a linear range from 0.01 to 7 nmol L(-1). It was also found that azithromycin could inhibit the CL intensity of luminol/BSA reaction. The decrements of CL intensity were logarithm over the concentrations of azithromycin ranging from 0.1 to 700 ng mL(-1). At a flow rate of 2.0 mL min(-1), a complete analytical process, which included sampling and washing, could be performed within 30s with relative standard deviations of less than 3.1%. This proposed method was successfully applied in assaying azithromycin in pharmaceutical and human serum samples with recoveries from 91.0 to 104.3%. The possible luminescence mechanism of luminol/BSA/azithromycin reaction was discussed in detail by CL, UV and fluorescence methods.     

Direct determination of amino acids by pressurized capillary electrochromatography with chemiluminescence detection

A pressurized CEC (pCEC) coupled with on-column chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for direct determination of amino acids, which was based on the principle of an enhanced effect of Cu(II)-amino acid complexes on the CL reaction between luminol and hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solution. The effects of some important factors on pCEC separation and CL intensity were systemically investigated. Baseline separation of amino acids including L-histidine (L-His), L-threonine (L-Thr), and L-tyrosine (L-Tyr) was achieved by using a monolithic column with a mobile phase of 5.0x10(-3) mol/L phosphate buffer at pH 8.0 that contained 25% v/v methanol and 5.0x10(-4) mol/L luminol and 1.0x10(-5) mol/L Cu(II) at an applied voltage of -5 kV. The calibration curves of the analytes by plotting the peak height against corresponding concentration were linear over the range of 3.2x10(-6)-3.2x10(-4) mol/L for L-His, 4.1x10(-6)-4.1x10(-4) mol/L for L-Thr, and 6.0x10(-7)-3.0x10(-4) mol/L for L-Tyr. The LODs for L-His, L-Thr, and L-Tyr were 6.4x10(-7), 8.4x10(-7), and 3.0x10(-7) mol/L (S/N = 2), respectively. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of amino acid injection sample with satisfactory results. Mean recoveries for three amino acids were from 84.3 to 89.6%.     

Determination of folic acid by capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

A rapid and simple method is presented for the determination of folic acid (FA) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with chemiluminescence (CL) detection. This method was based on enhance effect of FA on the CL reaction between luminol and BrO(-) in alkaline aqueous solution. Optimal separation and determination was obtained with an electrophoretic buffer of 35 mM sodium borate (pH 9.4) containing 0.8 mM luminol, and an oxidizer solution of 1.6 mM NaBrO in 100 mM NaCO(3) buffer solution (pH 12.0). Under the optimal conditions, the determination of FA was achieved in less than 20 min, and the detection limit was 2.0 x 10(-8) M (S/N=3). The relative standard deviations (RSDs) on peak area and migration time were in the 1.5 and 1.1%, respectively. The present CE-CL method was applied to the determination of FA in commercial pharmaceutical tablets, apple juices and human urine.     

Direct determination of horseradish peroxidase encapsulated in liposomes by using luminol chemiluminescence.

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) encapsulated in liposomes was directly detected by using luminol chemiluminescence (CL) with H2O2 without lysis of liposomes. At a low concentration of H2O2, the initial rate of HRP-catalyzed luminol CL in liposomes was slower than that of HRP-catalyzed luminol CL in a lipid-free bulk solution. The decrease in the initial rate of the CL reaction in liposomes was due to the membrane permeation of luminol and H2O2. At a high concentration of H2O2, the initial rate of the CL reaction in liposomes was the same as that in a lipid-free bulk solution. The CL measurement conditions in both a lipid-free bulk solution and in liposomes were optimized in the concentrations of luminol and H2O2 by measuring the CL response curves, in which only one peak appeared and the CL intensity was maximal. The CL intensity observed in HRP-catalyzed luminol CL in liposomes was a factor of seven greater than that observed in a lipid-free bulk solution. The CL intensity was dependent on the amount of HRP-encapsulated liposomes used. The detection limit in the direct detection of HRP encapsulated in liposomes was sensitive by a factor of 3 compared with that in HRP-catalyzed luminol CL in a lipid-free bulk solution.     

Capillary electrophoresis chemiluminescence assay of naphthol isomers in human urine and river water using Ni(IV) complex‐luminol system

A capillary electrophoresis method involving online indirect chemiluminescence (CL) detection was used to determine naphthol (NAP) isomers. The method was based on the quenching effect of 1‐ and 2‐NAP on a new CL reaction of luminol with Ni(IV) complex in an alkaline medium. Separation was conducted with a 25.0 mM sodium borate buffer containing 0.8 mmol/L luminol. Under optimized conditions, 1‐ and 2‐NAP were baseline separated and detected in less than 8 min. The limits of detection of 1‐ and 2‐NAP were 3.1 and 2.7 μg/L, respectively (S/N = 3), with a linear range of 4.0–80.0 μg/L (r > 0.995). Analysis of real samples demonstrated that the spiked recoveries were in the range of 89.2–107.5% (n = 3). The proposed method was successfully used to determine 1‐ and 2‐NAP contents in three environmental water samples and 14 human urine samples. No derivatization or tedious pretreatment was required in the analysis. The proposed method is a potential approach for routine tests of naphthol isomers in a facile CE–CL system.     

Determination of peroxidase encapsulated in liposomes using homogentisic acid y-lactone chemiluminescence.

Homogentisic acid gamma-lactone (HAL) chemiluminescence (CL) was applied to the determination of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) encapsulated in liposomes. HRP was detected after the lysis of HRP-trapped liposomes with Triton X-100. CL response rate, detection limit and linear range of calibration curve for HRP in HAL CL were compared with those in piodophenol (p-IP)-enhanced luminol CL. Maximal light emission in HAL CL appeared more rapidly compared to that in p-IP enhanced luminol CL, thus resulting in remarkable reduction of CL measurement time. The detection limit for HRP in HAL CL was the same as that in p-IP-enhanced luminol CL. The linear range of calibration curve for HRP in HAL CL was improved by a factor of 50 compared with that in p-IP-enhanced luminol CL. From these results, it was found that HAL CL were superior to p-IP-enhanced luminol CL for the determination of HRP encapsulated in liposomes.     

Speciation of chromium by in-capillary reaction and capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

A sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of chromium(III) (Cr3+) and chromium(VI) (CrO4(2-)) using in-capillary reaction, capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation and chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed. The chemiluminescence reaction was based on luminol oxidation by hydrogen peroxide in basic aqueous solution catalyzed by Cr3+ ion followed by capillary electrophoresis separation. Based on in-capillary reduction, chromium(VI) can be reduced by acidic sodium hydrogensulfite to form chromium(III) while the sample is running through the capillary. Before the electrophoresis procedure, the sample (Cr3+ and CrO4(2-)), buffer and acidic sodium hydrogensulfite solution segments were injected in that order into the capillary, followed by application of an appropriate running voltage between both ends. As both chromium species have opposite charges, Cr3+ ions migrate to the cathode, while CrO4(2-) ions, moving in the opposite direction toward the anode, react with acidic sodium hydrogensulfite which results in the formation of Cr3+ ions. Because of the migration time difference of both Cr3+ ions, Cr(III) and Cr(VI) could be separated. The running buffer was composed of 0.02 mol l(-1) acetate buffer (pH 4.7) with 1 x 10(-3) mol l(-1) EDTA. Parameters affecting CE-CL separation and detection, such as reductant (sodium hydrogensulfite) concentration, mixing mode of the analytes with CL reagent, CL reaction reagent pH and concentration, were optimized. The limits of detection (LODs) of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were 6 x 10(-13) and 8 x 10(-12) mol l(-1) (S/N=3), respectively. The mass LODs for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were 1.2 x 10(-20) mol (12 zmol) and 3.8 x 10(-19) mol (380 zmol), respectively.     

The second chemiluminescence emission of luminol-periodate-menadione sodium bisulfite system and its analytical application

In this paper, a new chemiluminescence phenomenon described as the second chemiluminescence emission was observed when menadione sodium bisulfite was injected into a reaction mixture of luminol and potassium periodate, in which luminol was oxidized by excess amount of potassium periodate for about 24 h. The mechanism of the second chemiluminescence emission was proposed based a series of experiments. Moreover, our experiment discovered that the second chemiluminescence intensity was a linear function of the concentration of menadione sodium bisulfite in the range of 2 × 10⁻⁹ to 4 × 10⁻⁵ g L⁻¹. Based on this phenomenon, a new flow-injection method for the determination of menadione sodium bisulfite has been established.     

Study on the electrochemiluminescent behavior of menadione sodium bisulfite in presence of luminol

Menadione sodium bisulfite (MSB) is a stable water-soluble derivative of Vitamin K₃, which is found to be able to enhance the ECL of luminol at potential of 0.88 V in phosphate buffer solution. The conditions for the enhanced ECL, such as the selection of the type of buffer solution, applied potential mode, scanning rate, the effect of pH and concentration of luminol have been investigated in detail in this paper. Under the optimum conditions, the enhanced ECL intensity is linear with the concentration of MSB over a wide range, the detection limit for MSB is 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol/L. The proposed method has been applied to determine the MSB in the commercial injection samples. A possible mechanism for the enhanced ECL of luminol by MSB has also been proposed.     

A facile and sensitive chemiluminescence detection of amino acids in biological samples after capillary electrophoretic separation

It was found that native amino acids enhanced the chemiluminescence (CL) reaction between luminol and BrO(-) in an alkaline aqueous solution. This has led to the development of a facile and highly sensitive CL detection scheme for the determination of amino acids in biological samples after capillary electrophoretic (CE) separation. The CE-CL conditions were optimized. An electrophoretic buffer of 2.5 x 10(-2) M sodium borate (pH 9.4) containing 1 x 10(-4) M luminol was used. The oxidizer solution of 8 x 10(-4) M NaBrO in 0.1 M sodium carbonate buffer solution (pH 12.5) was introduced post-column. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limits were 1.0 x 10(-7) M for glutamic acid (Glu) and 1.3 x 10(-7) M (S/N = 3) for aspartic acid (Asp). The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of peak area and migration time were in the ranges of 3.8-4.3% and 1.4-1.6%, respectively. The present method was applied to the determination of excitatory amino acids (i.e., Asp and Glu) in rat brain tissue and monkey plasma. The levels of these major excitatory amino acids in monkey plasma were quantified for the first time and found to be 1.17 +/- 0.17 x 10(-5) M (mean +/- SD, n = 6) for Glu and 1.64 +/- 0.19 x 10(-6) M for Asp, which were comparable with the levels in human plasma.     

Flow injection chemiluminescence detection and solvent extraction for human skin ointment dexamethasone acetate absorption analysis and the reaction mechanism study

A flow-injection chemiluminescence (CL) method coupled with solvent extraction for the determination of dexamethasone acetate (DA) in ointment was presented in this paper. It was based on the enhancing effect of the studied drug on CL emission of luminol–K₃Fe(CN)₆ system. This method has the advantages of simple sample treatment, cheap instrumentation and rapid detection. Under the optimum conditions, relative CL intensities were proportional to DA concentrations in the 0.044–4.4 μg ml⁻¹ range. The limit of detection was 0.01 μg ml⁻¹ (3σ) for DA. The method was applied to DA quantification in commercial DA ointment pharmaceutical and to human skin DA absorption analysis. Experiments were performed to evaluate the nature of DA enhanced luminol–K₃Fe(CN)₆ CL reaction. Based on the experimental results, it was suggested that in this CL system, DA was oxidized by K₃Fe(CN)₆ to form a medium product (DAox), DAox oxidized luminol with a faster kinetic step comparing with K₃Fe(CN)₆ oxidized luminol to an active form. As a result, DA speed the luminol CL reaction, and finally intensified the CL signal.     

Reagentless chemiluminescence flow sensor for the determination of riboflavin in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine

A novel continuous-flow sensor based on chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for the determination of riboflavin at pg ml(-1) levels by the immobilization of the reagents. It was found that the CL intensity from the oxidation between luminol and periodate could be enhanced in the presence of riboflavin. The increase of CL emission was correlated with the riboflavin concentration in the range from 0.04 to 200 ng ml(-1), and the detection limit was 0.02 ng ml(-1) (3s). Considering the effective reaction ions, luminol and IO4- was immobilized on anion-exchange resin. The system could produce an evident CL signal by water as eluant and it was also shown that the flow sensor could greatly improve the selectivity and sensitivity for determination of riboflavin with a high signal-to-noise ratio. A complete analysis, including sampling and washing, could be performed in 0.5 min with a relative standard deviation of less than 3.0%. The flow sensor was applied successfully to the determination of riboflavin in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine samples.     

CdTe nanocrystals sensitized chemiluminescence and the analytical application

It was found that the mixing of CdTe semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) with luminol in the presence of KMnO₄ can induce a great sensitized effect on chemiluminescence (CL) emission. When the concentration of luminol, KMnO₄ and NaOH were fixed at 1 μM, 1 μM and 0.05 M, respectively, the most excellent performance can be obtained for the CdTe NCs sensitized CL. By means of CL and photoluminescence spectra, we suppose the enhanced CL signals resulted from the accelerated luminol CL induced by the oxidized species of CdTe NCs. Based on the finding, using thioglycolic acid-capped CdTe NCs as label and immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a model analyte, a CL immunoassay protocol for IgG content detection was developed. The strong inhibition effect of phenol compounds on luminol-KMnO₄-CdTe NCs CL system was also observed. All these findings demonstrated the possibility of semiconductor nanocrystals induced chemiluminescence to be utilized for more practical applications.     

Loading effects of silver oxides upon generation of reactive oxygen species in semiconductor photocatalysis

Superoxide anion radical (O(2)(-*)) and OH radical generations in suspensions of Ag metal-, Ag(2)O-, or AgO-loaded TiO(2) and BiVO(4) photocatalysts in alkaline conditions (pH 12.0) were examined by means of a luminol chemiluminescence (CL) technique and a spin-trapping fluorescence one in which terephthalic acid reacts with an OH radical to afford the highly fluorescent 2-hydroxyterephthalic acid (TAOH), respectively. The observed luminol CL intensity was remarkably enhanced by the AgO loading on TiO(2) as well as BiVO(4). This can be explained by enhancement of O(2)(-*) production on the AgO-loaded photocatalysts caused by the synergetic effects on the thermocatalytic activity upon the AgO surface and the efficient electron-hole separation at the photocatalyst/AgO interface. On the other hand, loading effects of AgO on the TAOH formation were not so significant compared to those on the CL observation, though the TAOH formation rates for the TiO(2) samples were much larger than those for the BiVO(4) ones by about three orders of magnitude. The properties of O(2)(-*) and OH radical generations on these photocatalysts are discussed on the basis of the luminol CL kinetics and approximate band edge positions of TiO(2), BiVO(4), and silver oxides.     

Luminol Chemiluminescence with Heteropoly Acids and its Application to the Determination of Arsenate,Germanate, Phosphate and Silicate by Ion Chromatography

A flow-injection chemiluminescence (CL) method has been proposed for sensitive determination of arsenate, germanate, phosphate and silicate, after separation by ion chromatography (IC). The post-column detection system involved formation of heteropoly acid in a H₂SO₄ medium before the CL reaction with luminol in an NaOH medium. For separation, heteropoly acid formation and the CL detection reaction, pH requirements were not compatible. When present as a heteropoly acid complex with molybdenum(VI), ger- manium(IV) and silicon(IV) caused CL emission from oxidation of luminol, and such a CL oxidation of luminol was observed analogously for arsenic(V) and phosphorus(V) but with the addition of metavanadate ion to the acid solution of molybdate. Good sensitivity for the three analytes arsenic(V), ger- manium(IV) and phosphorus(V) could be given by a single set of reagent conditions, chosen carefully. Another set was suitable for determining phosphorus(V) and silicon(IV). The minimum detectable concentrations of arsenic(V), germanium(IV), phosphorus(V) and silicon(IV) were 10, 50, 1 and 10 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Linear calibrations for arsenic(V), germanium(IV), phosphorus(V) and silicon(IV) were established over the respective concentration ranges of 10–1000, 50–25000, 1–1000 and 50–1 μg l⁻¹. The proposed IC–CL method was successfully applied to analyses of a seaweed reference material, rice wine and water samples.